Nocturne
by pandorabox82
Summary: When Erin Strauss ruins Penelope's chances of making it into the music conservatory of her dreams, Penelope vows to have her revenge. When it comes, years later, will it still taste as sweet as she imagined it would? A/U


Penelope nervously smoothed her skirt once more, feeling the butterflies in her stomach begin to lose formation as she bounced her foot up and down in the rhythm of her song. Of course, she had memorized the piece, like any good soloist should, and she scoffed internally to see a girl, younger than her, carry her music into the audition room. But she supposed that it couldn't be helped, the girl was only six after all. At eleven, Penelope was much more advanced than that.

Twenty minutes passed, and the young girl came almost skipping out of the room, a vibrant smile on her lips. That could mean only one thing. She had all but been awarded one of the three spaces available at the conservatory. And Penelope had to work that much harder to impress the jurists. Expelling a harsh breath, she smoothed her skirt once more before tapping her fingers against her thighs in the same rhythm of her piece.

"Penelope Garcia?" Her head shot up and over to look at the young man standing in the doorway. Nodding to him, she closed the distance and followed him inside, shooting one last look back at her mother before closing the door. "All right, the judges are ready for you, good luck!"

"Luck is for people who didn't practice," she muttered as she sailed over to the piano bench and took a seat. Glancing over at jurists, she noticed one familiar face – Erin Strauss, one of the best soloists in the country. Immediately, the butterflies in her stomach started forming a tornado of activity, and she swallowed deeply before turning her head back to the keyboard and placing her fingers on the keys.

The notes flowed from her fingers, and she lost herself in the music. She was almost half way through her number when she heard the door creak open. No one should have been coming in to see her, and that errant thought caused her first stumble. Her focus broken, she fumbled along as she saw an older woman slink over to Erin's side, holding out a headshot, obviously looking for an autograph.

She came to a complete stop at the audacity of this intruder, and couldn't help but glare at her as Erin took the picture, giving the woman a sharp smile as she signed with a flourish. It was only when she was shooing out that woman that Erin seemed to notice that Penelope had stopped playing, and she looked at her intently, a disappointed look crossing her face. "Why did you stop?" she asked lowly.

"Because I was so rudely interrupted," she snapped back, watching the older woman's eyebrows shoot up. Penelope winced a little, realizing that she probably shouldn't have been quite so outspoken, and she turned back to the keyboard. "Are you ready to listen to me now?"

"Yes. Please, finish your piece."

She nodded and tried to find her place and her peace in Bach once more, but the mood was irrevocably broken, and she ham-fistedly made her way through to the end. Hot tears of shame flooded her eyes as she pushed away from the keyboard and stood before the jurists, her head bowed so that she wouldn't look at them as she curtsied.

"Ms. Garcia…" Erin started to say, but she ran out before hearing what she knew would be their decision. She knew that she had blown the audition, and the thought of her own stupidity being the cause of her missing out on a spot in the conservatory made up her mind. She was done with music.

Her mother was at her side in a heartbeat, as if she knew that it had gone horribly, and Penelope fell into her open arms, harsh sobs tearing from her throat. "What happened, baby?" her mother whispered in her ear, leading her into a private alcove, away from the prying eyes of those who had yet to audition.

"Some stupid woman burst into the room while I was playing and totally broke my concentration. And don't even say it, Mom. I know that I should be professional enough to not let anything disrupt me. But I couldn't help it, I was so irritated that someone would have the gall to do that to me!"

Penelope could hear the whine in her voice, but she was past caring at this point. Her mother just continued to rub her back in soft circles, trying to calm her. "It's all right, we can try again next year, and you're certain to make it. You have real talent, Penny, and I don't want one little bump in the road to derail you from your path in life."

She shrugged as she shook her head. "No, I think I'm done with music, Mom. I just, I can't do this anymore."

"All because of one person?"

"Yes." Anger flamed to life in her breast as she thought about how Erin Strauss had just let that woman approach her, how eagerly she had signed that picture, without regard for Penelope or the sanctity of her performance. "All because of Erin Strauss. And I swear, by every bone in my body, if I am ever afforded to opportunity to help her? I will pass her by. One day, I'll repay her for this, Mom. You just mark my words."

"Baby, you know that it's not good to think like that. Holding on to past hurts will just end up destroying you in the end."

She knew that her mother would say something like that to her, and so she pretended to take her advice after a moment's thought. "I suppose that you're right," she whispered as she snuggled close to her mother, leeching some of the warmth out of her body. "Come on, let's just go home."

"All right. But maybe you can play that Chopin piece that I love so when we get there. It might make you feel better."

Knowing that her mother would only nag her until she agreed, she nodded halfheartedly, resigning herself to playing only when called to do so by her mother. After all, she couldn't let six years of lessons go completely to waste, not after her parents had sacrificed to give that gift to her. "Okay. Let's get home, and I can play for you," she managed to bite out, not a single shred of enthusiasm in her voice. The only thing she remotely cared about now was finding a way to make Erin Strauss pay for ruining her dreams.


End file.
